PPP mandarin in attack on NHS

The former Treasury mandarin who pushed through the Government's PPP plans for the Tube today launched a withering attack on the state of the NHS.

Giving evidence to MPs, Sir Stephen Robson called for a substantial increase in the use of the private sector to provide services, suggesting that private firms should take over GPs' surgeries and hospitals.

Sir Stephen, seen as the force behind the Treasury's controversial plans for London Underground, also disagreed with his former boss, the Chancellor, over his claim that the present funding system for the NHS - through general taxation - is efficient. He said today: "The proposition that this is a very efficient health service rather ignores the fact that it is inefficient."

Arguing that the public would not expect a supermarket giant like Safeway to become the only food retailer in the country, he said that a state monopoly like the NHS did not offer choice nor deliver the necessary improvements.

Sir Stephen also said that in 30 years in Whitehall he had seen no signs that a public service ethos existed. He said: "If you tested it against the idea that they (public servants) work harder or better or are more dedicated than those in the private sector, I don't think it would stand up."